The Executive Vice-Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Aminu Maida, has confirmed that President Bola Tinubu has officially removed the 5 per cent excise duty on telecommunications services, a move expected to reduce costs for subscribers
Speaking to journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, Maida explained that the levy, which had previously been suspended, has now been completely scrapped.
“The excise duty, it was the 5 per cent or so, that is no longer there,” he said. “Before it was suspended, but now the president has been magnanimous to remove it entirely. I was in a room when it was raised, and he said, ‘No, no, no, we cannot put this on Nigerians.’ I was very pleased when the bills came out and we saw his words were followed through.”
The excise duty was part of a broader tax reform initiative under a bill aimed at repealing certain tax acts, consolidating legal frameworks, and enacting the Nigeria Tax Act for income, transactions, and related matters. The proposed tax faced strong opposition since its introduction in 2022 and was suspended in July 2023 due to public backlash.
Maida noted that the removal of the duty would relieve pressure on subscribers while supporting growth in Nigeria’s telecom sector, which is central to economic activity and digital inclusion.
He added that the NCC is pursuing reforms based on transparency, accountability, and better consumer protection, combining traditional rule-based oversight with behavioural economics to help consumers and operators make informed decisions.
One key initiative is a public network performance map, set to launch in September, showing independent data on download speeds, latency, and other quality indicators. A quarterly network performance report based on user data will also hold mobile operators and infrastructure providers accountable for service reliability.
Maida emphasized corporate governance as a tool to strengthen the sector, saying: “Transparent, well-governed companies attract investment and perform better.” He highlighted reforms such as the NIN-SIM audit, resolution of USSD debt disputes, the transition to end-user billing, and the launch of a Major Incident Reporting Portal as evidence of progress.
He also noted that Nigeria’s 2000 telecom policy, which introduced competition to break monopolies, has achieved its goal but requires updates for emerging technologies such as AI, IoT, remote sensors, and augmented reality.
On consumer concerns about failed electronic top-ups, Maida said a joint NCC-CBN task force had standardised recharge processes. Investigations by Tier-1 audit firms found no systemic manipulation of consumer data; issues were largely due to background app usage, device settings, and complex tariffs.
“We are not trying to punish anyone,” he said. “We want the industry to grow, so consumers are happier, operators perform better, and the government benefits from a broader tax base.”
NCC’s Director of Consumer Affairs, Freda Bruce-Bennett, advised subscribers on managing data by disabling autoplay on social media, limiting background data, deleting unused apps, using data-saving modes, and relying on Wi-Fi. She noted that Nigeria currently has 172 million active telephone subscribers, with 141 million internet users and 105 million broadband users.
NCC’s Director of Public Affairs, Nnenna Ukoha, highlighted the media’s role in communicating regulatory policies to the public, urging journalists to collaborate openly with the commission.
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